33 Responses to Serendipity SOUL- Wednesday Open Thread

“22 year old Spencer LeGrande first met Long when he was 15 and a member at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Charlotte, where he and his mother were among the founding families, according to his suit. He said they first had sex when he was 17 and on a trip with Long to Nairobi, Kenya.”

Okay, so whose wife is going to let their husband go to Africa or Australia and NOT take them? Child Predator?

I’ve been in the base of the Democratic Party since I was 10 years old, handing out leaflets and putting stamps on envelopes for George McGovern’s campaign in 1972. I’ve donated many hundreds of dollars over the years and volunteered my time to elect Democratic candidates, I’ve only voted for one Republican in my life and that was because I knew him personally and he was a moderate, decent guy. In the 38 years of being in the base, I know what the base looks like. Hamsher, Greenwald and Uygur…I’ve served with the base, I know the base, the base are friends of mine, firebaggers, you are not the base.

The base of the Democratic party in all seriousness are unions, African Americans, Hispanics, women, younger voters and college educated folks. Here is a great breakdown of who voted in 2008. By definition, the base are your most loyal voters. The ones who always turn out for your party, the ones who work for you, support you and can be counted on. Does that describe the people who are claiming to be or represent the base? I don’t think so.

The definition of “The Base” of the party has been conveniently redefined by those in the blogosphere who are really out for a quick buck, and who are attempting to snatch and wield power by threatening candidates with challengers and by raising money for specific candidates who they feel they can control. I had to laugh when the “professional left” comment came from Robert Gibbs and many of these bloggers ran to jump in front of that bullet. They claimed that title so fast, my head spun. And what exactly did Robert Gibbs say that they were all so incensed about. “I hear these people saying he’s like George Bush. Those people ought to be drug tested,” Gibbs said. “I mean, it’s crazy.” The way I interpreted there outrage over that comment was that they were admitting that they think Obama is like Bush, which is just plain fucking crazy and Robert Gibbs was dead on by saying they need to be drug tested. If you were offended by his comment, you deserved to be and let me tell you, YOU ARE NOT THE BASE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

President Obama accused GOP Rep. Eric Cantor in his hometown on Wednesday of proposing an economic plan that “doesn’t add up.”

Obama told families in Richmond, Va., that calling for Washington to “cut spending” sounds good, but that it can’t be done while giving tax breaks to the rich.

“I know your congressman here, you know, I think has strong ideas about what he says he wants to do,” Obama said. “Last week, the Republicans put forward what they called a ‘Pledge to America,’ which purported to say, ‘We’re going to cut your taxes … control spending … and balance the budget.’ ”

He continued, “Now, when you looked at the numbers, it’s hard to figure out how they all added up.”

Richmond, Virginia (CNN) — President Barack Obama tried to assure skeptical questioners Wednesday that the future for America is bright despite high unemployment and a growing deficit as the nation slowly recovers from economic recession.
At separate town hall-style meetings in Des Moines, Iowa, and Richmond, Virginia, Obama heard concerns about people out of work, health insurance reform, the cost of war, taxes and the hostile political environment back in Washington, D.C.
He touted his administration’s policies that he said prevented another Great Depression and got the economy growing again, but acknowledged that much more must be done to create more jobs and bring the kind of change he promised in his successful 2008 presidential campaign.
“I do want everybody to feel encouraged about our future,” Obama said to applause at the end of the first hour-long event, adding: “We’ve been through tougher times before, and we’re going to get through these times.”
He called for “tough but necessary adjustments and changes in how we approach the future,” saying: “All of us are going to have to pull together and focus not just on the present but the future. And if we do that, we’re going to be fine.”

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul LePage told a group of fishermen at a GOP forum that he won’t be afraid to tell President Barack Obama to “go to hell.”

LePage, a favorite of tea partiers, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he regretted the words he chose Sunday in the small coastal town of Brooksville but that he wasn’t backing down in his criticism of the administration for what he describes as free-spending, antibusiness policies.

A Democratic Party official said it showed LePage is hotheaded and ill-suited to govern.

LePage was responding to a question when he made the remark about Obama, which was captured by a Democratic Party aide who was videotaping the event.

“As your governor, you’re going to be seeing a lot of me on the front page, saying ‘Governor LePage tells Obama to go to hell,'” LePage said to applause.

This Land
Obama’s University Visit Was Not Simple
By DAN BARRY
Published: September 28, 2010

Would it be all right if the Leader of the Free World stopped by your campus for a little while?

He wants to surround himself with hordes of enthusiastic young people, toss out a few oratorical gems — as you know, he’s got the gift — and reinvigorate his anxious political party. The Secret Service has the usual security concerns, of course, but we’ll pay for any inconvenience. Interested?

The offer by the Democratic National Committee to the University of Wisconsin-Madison would seem like a no-brainer, conjuring images of university officials ostentatiously checking their calendars before saying: It just so happens that the Badgers of Wisconsin are free that day.

The offer, though, forced the university’s chancellor, Biddy Martin, to weigh the many benefits of a visit by a sitting president against the naked political purpose of that visit. After all, the event would be a kickoff rally for Democrats as they approach the midterm elections, and Barack Obama would be appearing as a party leader more than as a president.

The crux of this whole “PBO aint doing shit, lagging in the polls” BS meme is: White folks have gotten by purely on being white and mediocrity ruled.

The Black guy has to work a trillion times harder than his white counterparts. Black folks as a whole are always looked to, to carry the heavy load. These folks keep moving the goalpost, when it comes to black and other POC, while they stand on the sidelines and scream, DO MORE, IT’S NOT ENOUGH!

Not until white people get a grip on their white entitlement/privilege and racism, will we ever have any meaningful change in AMERICA.

Obama: ‘We need to make clear to people that the cancer is in Pakistan’
By Bob Woodward
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 29, 2010; 3:03 AM

The third of three articles adapted from “Obama’s Wars” by Bob Woodward.
President Obama dispatched his national security adviser, retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, and CIA Director Leon Panetta to Pakistan for a series of urgent, secret meetings on May 19, 2010.
Less than three weeks earlier, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen born in Pakistan had tried to blow up an SUV in New York City’s Times Square. The crude bomb – which a Pakistan-based terrorist group had taught him to make – smoked but did not explode. Only luck had prevented a catastrophe.

We’re told the housekeeper has lawyered up with none other than Gloria Allred. The housekeeper and Allred will hold a news conference today in Gloria’s office at 11 AM PT, “to tell how she suffered as a long-time, Latina household employee in Meg Whitman’s home.

We’re told the housekeeper will be filing a legal claim against Ms. Whitman.

From what we’re hearing, the disclosures could have a significant impact on the campaign and possibly the election.

We will, of course, live stream the news conference. It doesn’t matter where you live — Don’t miss this one.

Black Girls Rock!

Flickr Photos

Potus Takes Oath of Office

Flotus & Daughters at Great Wall of China

My Brothers Keeper

AFRO PUFFS

Most Adorable Shoe Stealer

Six Little Babies

Fatherhood

Even though 3Chics Politico is written and curated by three women: Ametia, Rikyrah, and SouthernGirl2, I must nominate this as one of the most engaging blogs I've found. Devoted to politics and culture, these three shine a light on contemporary life with humor and spirit.